Hello friends, how are you doing? I hope you are enjoying some rest during the summer! The inspiration for this post does not come from a tweet but actually from a line of a movie (Le Otto Montagne, great movie btw!) I saw a few months ago. The line really stuck with me and I have been thinking about it, and as I saw other things around the topic I thought it would make an interesting post. Hope you enjoy it!
The movie line is at this link. It’s a scene where one of the two protagonist charachters thanks the other one for having revealed to him the beauty of reading books.
And in the scene he says something that sounds very simple but that I found super powerful, paraphrasing (charachter talks a north-Italian dialect: “Do you know what we say here when you're sad? "trovo lungo" How are you? "trovo lungo" that's it. It's when I started reading that I understood how many different ways there are to say things, because otherwise, poor words, poor thoughts.”
I believe that this line “Povere Parole, Poveri Pensieri” encapsulates a profound truth about the power of language and how it impacts the ability to think. Language is not just a tool for communication; it is a vessel for our thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. The richness of our language often mirrors the richness of our thoughts.
The importance of books and long-form text
I mentioned in my past post a podcast episode where Lex Friedman interviews Yuval Noah Harari, the renowned historian and author of "Sapiens" and in one of the passages I liked the most, when asked about his own “information diet” (i.e. what type of media he consumes) he emphasizes the need for individuals to consume a balanced diet of information, much like a balanced diet of food, to maintain a healthy mind. He suggests that consuming too much "junk information", such as tweets or sensationalized news articles, can lead to a distorted understanding of the world, just as consuming too much junk food can lead to physical health problems.
Harari argues that long-form text, such as books, provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of complex issues. They allow for depth, context, and contemplation that is often missing in shorter, more immediate forms of information. He suggests that a healthy information diet would involve a larger proportion of this type of in-depth, long-form content.
In the context of the conversation, Harari's comment "more books, less tweets" is a response to Lex Fridman's question about how to maintain a healthy information diet. Harari suggests that reading more books and fewer tweets would lead to a more balanced and nutritious information diet. This is because books typically provide a more comprehensive and nuanced exploration of topics, whereas tweets are limited in length and depth.
In essence, Harari is advocating for mindful consumption of information, where quality is valued over quantity, and depth over breadth. This, he suggests, is key to developing a well-rounded understanding of the world and our place in it. I fully subscribe to this view, and actively force myself to spend as much time as possible reading books, listening to long conversations and reading long documents rather than tweets or tik-toks.
Pobres Palabras, Pobres Pensamientos
When thinking about this topic I also often referenced in my mind to this very funny bit of the TV show “Modern Family” where Sofia Vergara has a line I have often used when talking to my spanish friends: “You should see how smart I am in Spanish” (in my case it’s Italian of course!).
This statement underscores an important reality: when we learn a foreign language, we gain the ability to express our thoughts more articulately and comprehensively in that language. Our vocabulary expands, and with it, our capacity to convey complex ideas and emotions. I know very well in first hand how frustrating it feels to express articulated opinions and thoughts when you are litterally missing the words to say them. When I talk to friends in my very basic spanish I often realize that I over-simplify my thinking to “take it down to my spanish-speaking skills”. It’s really hard for me to express structured and complicated thoughts in spanish, just because my speaking skills are not at the right level.
Power of foreign languages
On the other hand, when thinking about learning other languages there’s another very relevant consideration that came to mind: learning new words, new ways to construct sentences and a new culture opens up your mind. You start to form thoughts and considerations that would have been harder to form in your native language, and a set of new ideas start to pop-up.
Imagine you're an English speaker learning Japanese for the first time. As you delve into the language and culture, you come across the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, known as "sado" or "chanoyu". This isn't just about making tea; it's a meticulous process that embodies harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility.
Before learning about this, you might have seen tea as just a beverage, something to quickly make and consume in the morning rush. But now, with your understanding of "sado", your perspective shifts. Making tea becomes an opportunity to slow down, to appreciate the careful preparation and the serene moment of consumption.
This new concept doesn't just add to your vocabulary; it changes the way you perceive the world. You start to see opportunities for "sado" in your daily life, taking moments to appreciate tranquility and harmony. You might even start to seek out these moments, appreciating the beauty of the process in a way you hadn't before.
In this way, learning a new language isn't just about acquiring new words; it's about opening your mind to new perspectives and experiences. It's about seeing the world through a different lens and, in the process, gaining a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Benefits of bilingual brains
I also bumped into two very interesting TED talks on this topic. In the first one (Benefits of a bi-lingual brain) the speaker, educator Mia Nacamulli, explains that knowing two or more languages can significantly alter the brain's structure and functionality compared to monolingual individuals. Language ability is typically measured in two active parts, speaking and writing, and two passive parts, listening and reading. Depending on how and when a person acquires each language, they can be classified into three general types: compound bilinguals, coordinate bilinguals, and subordinate bilinguals. Each type represents a different way of learning and using multiple languages, and each has its unique cognitive benefits.
Nacamulli also discusses the critical period hypothesis, which suggests that children learn languages more easily because their developing brains allow them to use both hemispheres in language acquisition. In contrast, most adults' language is lateralized to one hemisphere, usually the left. This difference in language acquisition can lead to a more holistic understanding of social and emotional contexts in children. Furthermore, being multilingual provides the brain with remarkable advantages, such as higher density of grey matter, more activity in certain regions when engaging a second language, and potentially delaying the onset of diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia. While bilingualism may not necessarily make you smarter, it does make your brain more healthy, complex, and actively engaged. Learning a new language doesn't just equip us with new words and grammar rules. It opens up new avenues of thought, enabling us to perceive and interpret the world in novel ways.
Bilingualism, with its cognitive benefits, exemplifies this. It not only enhances our attention and problem-solving abilities but also enriches our understanding of different cultures and perspectives. This cognitive flexibility and cultural sensitivity foster a more nuanced and complex thought process. So, in essence, by enriching our language through bilingualism, we enrich our thoughts, embodying the spirit of "Parole povere, pensieri poveri". With rich words come rich thoughts, and with rich thoughts comes a deeper understanding of our diverse world.
Language shapes how we think
The power of language extends beyond mere communication and self-expression. It also shapes our perception of the world and influences our thought processes. Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky, in the second TED Talk I watched on the topic, explores this fascinating aspect of language.
Boroditsky presents compelling examples from around the world to illustrate how language influences thought. For instance, she discusses an Aboriginal community in Australia that uses cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) instead of relative directions (left, right). This linguistic feature compels the speakers to be constantly aware of their orientation in the physical world, thereby influencing their spatial cognition.
Another example Boroditsky shares is the multiple words for blue in Russian. Unlike English, which has a single word for blue, Russian distinguishes between light blue ("goluboy") and dark blue ("siniy"). This linguistic distinction leads Russian speakers to perceive these two shades of blue as separate colors, much like the distinction between red and pink in English.
These examples underscore the profound ways in which language shapes our cognition. It influences how we perceive colors, navigate our surroundings, categorize objects, and even how we understand time. The diversity of languages around the world, each with its unique sounds, vocabularies, and structures, offers a multitude of cognitive universes. As Boroditsky eloquently puts it, "Human minds have invented not one cognitive universe, but 7,000".
The implications of this linguistic diversity are profound. It reveals the incredible flexibility and adaptability of the human mind. It also highlights the importance of preserving linguistic diversity. Each language offers a unique lens through which to view and understand the world. The loss of a language is, therefore, not just a cultural loss, but also a loss of a unique cognitive universe.
Future of languages
And, just to close the post with yet another AI reference, Artificial Intelligence might play a dual role in this context, especially when considering the advancements in live-translation technologies. On one hand, AI has the potential to bridge language barriers, making communication easier and expanding individuals' exposure to different cultures and perspectives. This could lead to a greater understanding and appreciation of our diverse world, fostering global unity and cooperation.
On the other hand, as live translation becomes increasingly efficient and widespread, the necessity of learning a second language might diminish. This could potentially lead to a loss of the cognitive benefits associated with bilingualism and multilingualism. The rich, nuanced thought processes that come with knowing multiple languages, the cultural insights, the cognitive flexibility - all these could be at risk if we rely solely on AI for language translation.
Therefore, as we embrace the conveniences of AI, we must also remember the value of human languages. Languages are not just tools for communication, but vessels for our thoughts, shapers of our perceptions, and gateways to different cultures.
"Parole povere, pensieri poveri": by enriching our languages, we enrich our thoughts. And by enriching our thoughts, we enrich our understanding of the world. So, let's continue to learn and cherish the diversity of languages, for with rich words come rich thoughts. As an entrepreneur I admire (Marco Trombetti from Translated), who is probably the biggest expert on the planet of languages and machine-translation, often says “we believe in humans”.
Enjoy the week-end!
Giovanni